Table of Contents
Bowling Alley Days
As I continued with my series of jobs, I realized that I missed one. I held this job while concurrently delivering newspapers and before I started at PicWay.
My dad (Grandpa Tony) was forever the hustler. Along with his regular job as a mailman, he also moonlighted on the docks. He was the recording secretary for one of his bowling leagues. He bowled in at least two leagues per week well into his 80s! But was recording secretary for one, The Capital League at St. Angelo’s Lanes. This league attracted the best bowlers. One had to know someone to qualify for this highly competitive league.
We lived close to Lake Shore Lanes in the Harbor and ABC Lanes in downtown Ashtabula. He rarely bowled either. He usually bowled only as a sub for a friend. He preferred St. A’s and King’s Lanes in Kingsville for some reason.
As recording secretary, his tasks included:
- Collecting league fees from each team – he’d walk the alley each week, from team to team, in between his bowling turn, and collect payment envelops
- Accounting of these fees and their distribution as prizes for high games and high average for individuals and teams for each week, half-season, and whole season
- Calculation of the above statistics each week
Junior Recording Secretary
This is where I came in as “Junior Recording Secretary” (a title that I just made up).
Since the bowlers knew me as “Tony’s boy”, I easily walked the allies to collect their fees.
On those lane walks, I’d hear the ecstatic yelling of joy or the moaning of sorrow of the bowlers (previously described in blog post – PO #2 & GPS #17 Awesome Fulton and MEH Pizza! here). Never did I hear curse words in English as most were proper gentlemen as most were in the 1960s.
Although, Italian (aka Nebaletan) curse words were much more common…even from the non-Italian-Americans!!!! Ashtabula was a melting pot for laborers from Eastern and Southern Europe early in the 20th Century. The Nebaletan words were pervasive.
Occasionally on my lane walks, I’d be handed a quarter. I was asked to fetch a 20-cent coffee for a bowler. I took this job very seriously. I was afraid to spill any hot coffee which would be an embarrassment for a 10-year-old. I couldn’t imagine having to explain to my mother (Grandma Joanne) that she needed to clean my white Mother of Sorrow dress shirt. Upon returning with the coffee and the nickel, I’d usually get the nickel as a tip! More baseball cards for me!
But the job that I most cherished as “Junior Recording Secretary” was to calculate the averages!
After homework, I’d sit at the kitchen table and take over the bowler’s stats calculations from Grandpa Tony. ABC (American Bowling Congress) provided a booklet that had already calculated averages. But I preferred to calculate long-hand. It was just as fast for me as looking it up in the ABC booklet.
Soon, I’d do this in my head but check long-hand periodically. It’s a skill that I still have and continue to practice. Many of my friends ask what I do on such long bike rides of 5 or 6 hours. I calculate numbers in my head! I especially like square and cubed roots…yes, not normal.
Pizza Review – Salvatore’s, Fairport, NY
161th pizza reviewed, 41th this year (see full list => click here)
Salvatore’s Pizzeria is a ubiquitous Rochester institution; seemingly on every Main Street corner in every Rochester area town. Despite that, I’ve not eaten or reviewed Salvatore’s since staring this blog.
Frankly, we don’t buy Salvatore’s pizza often. They are local, but big (huge? Billy Fucillo RIP huge?) chain and which are not my style. Also, Salvatore’s is primarily a franchise model. For me, franchises rarely have the same passion or quality as the original owner.
We were watching our grandson when dinner time rolled in. Despite my reservations, I placed an order via Salvatore’s website. The shop is just a walking distance from their house.
| Date | August 17, 2024 |
| Pizzeria | Salvatore’s Pizzeria |
| City/Neighborhood | Fairport, NY / Fairport Village |
| Website | https://www.salvatores.com/ |
| About Us | https://www.salvatores.com/history Probably the most in-depth “About Us” page on the Web; maybe too much depth! Written like a flat HTML page for the 1990s! With a little more organization and grammar, it can be a treat to read. As it is, it’s a little too verbose. But, it does capture how the owner got into the business, and Soccer Sam is truly a Rochester masterpiece. |
| Style | Sicilian, but interestingly round, not a rectangular pan as is typical for a Sicilian |
| Ambiance | The Fairport Village shop is very cool and nice. It looks like a remake, not original, of a Brooklyn storefront with apartments above. While the inside is clean and tastefully done except for the clash of grey and black walls with tan tile. Besides, the first thing you see when you walk in is a picture of Sophia Loren. The joint at least has that going for it! BTW – I’m sure they received the proper model release to use that picture…hmmm! The biggest bummer was that I was taking out. It was pouring rain, which caused the trademark Salvatore’s pink to-go box (for breast cancer awareness) to get wet. Thankfully, it was the sturdy style box to preserve the pizza. |
| Rating Criteria | |
| Shape | Round with Square Cuts |
| Dough/Crust | Tickness – Medium to Tick Cook – Pan fried goodness! Not a heavy pan fry, but the taste of oil at the bottom was present as well as the crevices where air bubbled up as typical of pan fry Soft, Crispy at cornicione, Spongy/airy, Chewy Flavor – Sweet, typical for same day dough but done well Yeasty |
| Cornicione | Pan fry, Crispy, Spongy/airy, Sweet |
| Toppings | 1/2 Pepperoni, whole cheese Fresh – seemingly no It was a genuinely nice cup and char from the pepperoni. But, this comes at the expense of burning the cheese. Tasty pepperoni! |
| Sauce | Tangy and on the tick side with a rich tomato taste. Very good, Ample amount too. This is where I believe the franchise model is a problem for Salvatore’s. This store’s pizzaiola used ample sauce as I like versus just a small scoop spread over a large pizza. A different pizzaiola at the same store or a different store might not put an “ample amount” on the pizza. In a franchise model like Salvatore’s, the quality details like consistent pizzaiola to pizzaiola and store to store sauce amount (and taste) are lacking. |
| Cheese | Cheese Type – Moozedell, no detection of other cheese flavor Cheese Distribution – All over Greasy, Stringy – OVERCOOKED (look at the right edge of the pizza picture above). My guess is that the pizzaiola was attempting to get a nice cup and char with the pepperoni and forgot about the non-pepperoni side |
| Cheese to Sauce Ratio | Sauce – Medium Cheese – Medium to A lot Balance – still on the cheesy side, but not too bad, could use less artery filling cheese to balance out the taste with the sauce |
| Value | Rather good. $22 for a 16″ cheese which is $12.50 for a 12″ equivalent. |
| Overall Rating | Good (but not Great) – this was difficult. I was on the verge of calling this MEH because of the burnt cheese. But the amount and flavor of the sauce and the nicely done crust helped too. |
| Would I Go Back? | Maybe – but only in a real pinch. With a Salvatore’s in my town, I probably should try them again too and make a review |
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